Padres Claim Jeff Fulchino; Designate Pat Neshek

The Padres announced that they claimed Jeff Fulchino off of waivers from the Astros and designated right-hander Pat Neshek for assignment. Fulchino is scheduled to join the Padres in San Diego tomorrow night.

Fulchino, 31, posted a 5.18 ERA with 8.5 K/9, 4.9 BB/9 and a 37.4% ground ball rate in 33 innings for the Astros this year. The right-hander has a career ERA of 4.74 with 8.2 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 176 2/3 MLB innings since 2006 and his average fastball velocity is 93.4mph.

Neshek pitched 24 2/3 innings for the Padres after they claimed him off of waivers from the Twins in March. The side-arming 30-year-old posted a 4.01 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 8.0 BB/9 with the Padres.